Third Ward post office saved in rare victory

﻿Third Ward's Southmore Station at 4110 Almeda was saved from potential shuttering by a grassroots movement that involved U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green.

Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff

Houston's consumers, grassroots activists and members of Congress collectively accomplished something not done anywhere else in the last three years: They persuaded the U.S. Postal Service to back down from plans to close a post office.

Halting a relocation for the Southmore Station in Third Ward happened despite agency actions that "may be seen as an attempt to minimize public input," according to a Post Office Relocation Process audit released last month by the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General.

The report confirms that what happened in Houston is, indeed, a rare victory.

The Inspector General's audit reviewed 33 of the 114 Postal Service relocation projects identified for three fiscal years - 2011, 2012 and 2013. Of 25 appeals filed, Southmore's was the only one upheld.

Other communities across the country also have made herculean efforts since 2011 to save post offices, including historic operations at main stations in city downtowns, but failed to convince officials to scrap relocation plans.

It's unclear what influenced the quasi-governmental business that touches every address in America to withdraw its plan for Southmore. Could it have been the efforts of Houston resident Kofi Taharka, national chairman of the National Black United Front, who delivered petitions to Postal Service headquarters in Washington? Was it meetings initiated by U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green with agency officials? Could the difference have been protests outside the station near the Texas Historical Commission marker that commemorates the address as the site of Houston's first civil rights era sit-in?

Green credited those who depend upon the Southmore Station at 4110 Almeda - which is on a busy thoroughfare with frequent public bus service, ample parking and in walking distance for many customers - for initiating the outcry.

"This was really a time when the grassroots effort paid off," he said Thursday.

Taharka agreed but remains cautiously optimistic.

"I don't want it to come back up next year or three years from now," he said. "We've seen that before. You think you win something, but it's a temporary victory."

Unfair notification

The audit also arrived at the same conclusion as many Houstonians: The way the Postal Service notifies the public about closing or moving post offices is unfair to consumers. For instance, federal regulations allow officials to present the possible relocation of multiple stations at one public meeting

And that's what happened in December 2013 when Postal Service administrators utilized one gathering to unveil their plans to move six Houston stations - Memorial Park, Julius Melcher, Greenbriar, University, Medical Center, and Southmore.

The analysis noted that while not prohibited under federal guidelines, such a broad presentation "can be confusing" and limits attention to each area's potential postal service disruption.

Current rules also don't obligate agency officials to declare where new post offices will be located until it's too late for anyone to object.

"We recognize that without knowing the final location the public cannot comment on or fully assess the impact of a relocation," the report said.

Officials didn't know

The audit also found that Postal Service officials often were not knowledgeable about the relocation process. This may explain why regional administrators stumbled through explanations at a January community meeting called by Jackson Lee.

"Consequently, the public and local officials may not have had the information they needed to make informed comments and determine the impact of a relocation, which could harm the Postal Service's relationship with the public," the report said.

The Office of Inspector General recommended that the Postal Service's vice president of facilities "revise regulations and guidelines to enhance transparency and public input for potential alternative site selections."

Postal Service management defended itself in the report.

In a statement on Thursday, the Postal Service said "no decision has been made" about the Memorial Park, Julius Melcher, Greenbriar, University and Medical Center station relocations.

Houston has two postal service properties for sale, according to the agency's property website.

The Barbara Jordan Main Post Office at 401 Franklin in downtown is "in contract," according to the site, and there is a listing for a Galleria-area annex at 3500 Sage, but no "call for offers" date has been determined.

In addition, the Postal Service announced plans last month to potentially move retail services and P.O. boxes from the Heights station at Yale and 11th to a West 19th Street annex. If the relocation happens, the post office at 1050 Yale would be closed.